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What line do you use?


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im a fluro guy so cant comment on braid or mono. what i will say is i like to use the heaviest possible line i can get away with, this will depend on your lake choice, my current lake has cats to over 100lb, ive never caught one but if i did i like to think my line is up to the job. if i lost a fish due to having line that wasnt up to the job id be kicking my self for years to come because you never know if thet fish will be the biggest to grace you landing net.

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I'm looking to fill my spare spools up with line for carp. So far I've been using the line I use for my pike fishing.

What breaking strain, mono/braid do you guys use?

 

You need to figure out what's important to you fella.

 

- For distance casting go for a pre-stretched line (e.g. Fox Exocet etc.). They cast fantastically but aint so good where abrasion resistance is required.

- For general angling without too much weed go for one of the new low stretch/partially pre-stretched lines (e.g. Shimano Technium, Gardner GT-HD etc.) These cast well and have half decent abrasions resistance.

- General angling in weedy situations go for a traditional all-rounder (ESP Synchro, Gardner Pro etc.). Cast OK, nice and strong.

- Heavy weed go for a heavy line (Gardner hydroTuff, Rig Marole SLS etc.). Not so good for casting but you'd land a bus in a forest.

- If you want your line on the deck go for a fluoro. Again, not great casting, but the benefits are obvious.

 

There's no such thing as a line that will do everything perfectly (although the low stretch options are getting there). Think about what's important to you and go for the most suitable.

 

What are you using for piking? It's likely as good an all rounder as the carp lines (but the carp lines will be twice the price....).

 

You could do worse than follow Dovii's advice, that being to use the toughest line you can get away with for your angling situation.

Edited by yonny
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I may get shot down by all other pikers but I use maxima chameleon. I use it for general coarse and never had any problems so just went with the higher breaking strain.

 

Tbh in 15 lb @ 0.38 dia. the Chameleon aint a bad line bud. You'll get away with the 12 if you don't have too much weed in the picture.

Unless you've had issues or face an angling situation that requires a change you may as well stick with it. It's a decent reliable line.

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  • 2 weeks later...

For fishing a very snaggy venue I would definitely recommend esp sincro xt in 15 lb, there is a new version called xt loaded as the normal xt has been reported to lose its sinking values but I have been using since last season and had no such problem.

Love this line, best stuff I've used so far

 

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

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For fishing a very snaggy venue I would definitely recommend esp sincro xt in 15 lb

Syncro is a fantastic line but IMO not the one for snags. It's an all-rounder, casts OK, sinks OK, reasonable strength..... it'll deal with weedy waters (although I'd use the 18 lb for 'proper' weed), for snaggy waters though I'd use a purpose made heavy duty line. The syncro has good abrasion resistance, but not good enough for snags, certainly not in 15 lb, IMO of course....

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Syncro is a fantastic line but IMO not the one for snags. It's an all-rounder, casts OK, sinks OK, reasonable strength..... it'll deal with weedy waters (although I'd use the 18 lb for 'proper' weed), for snaggy waters though I'd use a purpose made heavy duty line. The syncro has good abrasion resistance, but not good enough for snags, certainly not in 15 lb, IMO of course....

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Is that from experience yonny

It is indeed fella.

I've used the 15 lb in the weedy waters of the Nene Valley. The knot and linear strength are great but the abrasion resistance (while being good for a standard duty line) aint enough - it comes back frayed if you get a carp stuck in the weed for a prolonged period (which is pretty much unavoidable on some of the waters I fish). I moved over to the 18 lb and saw the same thing but the increased diameter gave me a little extra confidence.

Moved over to the Gradner Pro - same thing, very similar line. also very good.

Now use heavy duty line (Rig Marole SLS Specimon Tough). The abrasion resistance is like nothing I've ever used. Hard as nails.

 

IMO snag fishing is about stopping the carp from entering the snag in the first place and this line would stop a bus IMO of course.

 

Completely agree fella. BUT... they're carp, and sooner or later one will find the snags. Therefore IMO it's not good practice to fish in a sang situation with a line that's not up to the job of extracting them safely.

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It is indeed fella.

I've used the 15 lb in the weedy waters of the Nene Valley. The knot and linear strength are great but the abrasion resistance (while being good for a standard duty line) aint enough - it comes back frayed if you get a carp stuck in the weed for a prolonged period (which is pretty much unavoidable on some of the waters I fish). I moved over to the 18 lb and saw the same thing but the increased diameter gave me a little extra confidence.

Moved over to the Gradner Pro - same thing, very similar line. also very good.

Now use heavy duty line (Rig Marole SLS Specimon Tough). The abrasion resistance is like nothing I've ever used. Hard as nails.

 

 

Completely agree fella. BUT... they're carp, and sooner or later one will find the snags. Therefore IMO it's not good practice to fish in a sang situation with a line that's not up to the job of extracting them safely.

Totally agree, but you never know how tough a line is til you try it out. What some people class as a snag could be completely different to what someone else classes as a snag
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Totally agree, but you never know how tough a line is til you try it out.

Spot on fella. That's why I posted ref your recommendation.

 

What some people class as a snag could be completely different to what someone else classes as a snag

Not sure I agree with that bud. A snag is a snag - i.e. something that your tackle can become snagged on.

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Ah, but would you say pads are a snag? How about a reed bed, thick weed? Just a test

That's a good answer fella. Fair point.

Yes, I would say pads are a snag.

No, I would not call weed snags.

The reed bed is the one that gets me - snags or not? Who knows, but I do know I'd want to be fishing a snag type heavy duty line if I was fishing sparse reeds that the fish could get into.

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